|
|
Street Tech's
Several years ago, I bought this really cool looking snack box (half the size of a regular lunch box) at a stationary store for about US$3. It's molded black plastic and has a trippy laser foil panel inset onto the front. When I purchased it, I had no idea what I was going to use it for. It sat around gathering dust for a few months until I made a trip to Radio Shack to get some audio adapters for a DJ rig I was putting together. While I was there, I figured I might as well pick up some other adapters so that I wouldn't need to dash back to the Shack anytime soon. I put them in the snack box and, inspired by the idea of a quick-access connector and cable kit, I added electrical tape, a Mini Mag Lite, some RJ11 phone cables, my RJ11 adapters and anything else I had lying around the house that could assist me during audio/video/phone hookups.
We're a very media nomadic household. My wife's a musician and has lots of sound equipment. I like to DJ parties and Street Tech reviewing always keeps a steady stream of A/V equipment moving in and out of our home. My trusty cable & connector kit has become a godsend. Nine times out of ten, I have the parts I need in my box. Whenever I'm headed to an electronics store, I check to see what adapters and connectors are missing from my kit and replace them.
This cool lunch box and cable & connector kit,
with over $100 worth of goodies from MCM Electronics could be yours!
Click here for details.
We've put together the ultimate cable & connector kit. You may not need all of these components in your kit and the price of putting one together can vary greatly. You can save money by not buying from the Shack, but ordering from an electronics catalog. We put this kit together from the MCM Electronics catalog. The fine folks at MCM were kind enough to give us the kit contents so we could give it away to some lucky Street Tech reader. Street Tech's tech guru Timmy Tuner also graciously donated one of his ultra-cool recycled HELLO CTHULU lunch boxes to hold the kit. See the contest announcement for details on how you can win this awesome pile of geek booty.
| The Street Tech Cable & Connector Kit |
| Phone Components: |
| Quan. | Item | What is it? | Notes |
| 2 | RJ11 phone cables | Phone cable with RJ11 male ends | Hooking up phones and modems |
| 1 | 25' RJ11 phone cable | Phone cable with RJ11 male on one end, female on the other | Useful when you need a big-ass phone extension cord |
| 1 | RJ11 "T" adapter | Two RJ11 female to RJ11 male adapter | Splits a single phone cable into two phone cables |
| 1 | Triplex RJ11 jack | Splits wall jack into three lines. | I use mine for two permanent modem jacks and a modem jack for my PalmPC |
| 2 | Inline phone couplers | Connects two RJ11 cables | Great for making hotel room phone extension whatever size you need |
| 3 | Phone chord untanglers | Stops twisted phone cables | No phone should be without one |
| Audio/Video Components: |
| Quan. | Item | What is it? | Notes |
| 1 | Left/Right RCA cable | Connects stereo audio gear | You know how this works: Red=right channel, White=left |
| 1 | L/R RCA to stereo mini (3.5mm) cable | Cable with RCA stereo on one end, stereo mini plug on the other | Connect device with RCA stereo signal to single mini stereo jack |
| 1 | VCR Patch cable | Connects stereo audio and video | Connects between video cameras, TVs, VCRs, etc. |
| 1 | Two 3.5mm female to 3.5 male adapter | "Y" Adapter for connecting two stereo minis (L/R) to one stereo mini | Can be used to plug two mini stereo plugs into one mini stereo jack |
| 1 | Two RCA female to 3.5 male adapter | "Y" adapter for connecting two RCA stereo plugs to one stereo mini | For plugging RCA stereo L/R into one mini stereo jack |
| 2 | Two RCA female to RCA male adapter | For connecting two RCA plugs into a single RCA jack | For plugging two RCA mono channels into a single RCA jack |
| 1 | Two RCA female to 1/4" (Phono) male | "Y" Adapter for connecting two RCA stereo plugs to one stereo phono jack | For plugging RCA stereo L/R into one stereo jack |
| 1 | RCA "Y" adapter | Connects one RCA jack to two RCA female plugs | For plugging RCA L/R into a single RCA jack |
| 2 | RCA female to RCA female adapter | Connects one RCA cable to another | For creating RCA cable extensions |
| 2 | Phono (1/4" male) stereo to Mini (3.5mm) stereo | Connects one phono plug to a mini jack | Great for plugging phono headphones into a stereo with mini jack |
| 2 | Mini (3.5mm) stereo to Phono (1/4" male) stereo | Connects one phono plug to a mini jack | For plugging mini headphones into a stereo with phono-type jack |
| 2 | RCA female mono to two RCA mono male | For spliting an RCA mono signal into two mono signals | Useful for sending a left or right signal to two different devices |
| 2 | RCA right angle adapters | For connecting a device that uses RCA jacks in a tight space | Useful for connecting devices that need to be almost flush with a wall |
| 1 roll | 18 guage speaker wire | 50' roll of 2-conductor wire w/clear insulation | Good for stereos, burglar alarms and other low voltage applications |
| Misc. Components: |
| Quan. | Item | What is it? | Notes |
| 1 roll | Two-sided foam tape | 6-1/2' roll for quick and dirty fastening | For more permanent fastening, use a glue gun |
| 1 roll | Vinyl electrical tape | 66' roll for insulating wire splices up to 600V | Resists UV rays, abrasion, moisture, corrosives, etc. |
| 1 | A/C Grounding adapter | Converts 3-prong to 2-prong adapter with grounding loop | Use for ungrounded outlets |
| 3 | Alligator jumper cables | 24" cables with alligator clips on either end | For quick electrical hookups and testing |
| 1 | Heatshrink Tubing Kit | Various sizes of shrinkable tubing for more permanent insulation/protection than electrical tape can provide | Use a dryer or micro-torch (w/caution) to shrink onto wire splices |
| 1 | Can of Eco-Lube | All-purpose cleaner/lubricant | Cleans away dust and oxidation from electronics and adds silicone lubricant |
| 1 | Can of Dust-Off | Compressed gas for cleaning electronics inside and out | Great for when you're too lazy to drag out the Data-Vac |
| Tools: |
| Quan. | Item | What is it? | Notes |
| 1 | Mini Mag Lite Flashlight | Illuminates your life | You can never have enough of these little wonders |
| 1 | Solderless Connector Kit | Wire cutter/crimping tool and various solderless connectors | Gets better and neater connections than wire wrapping |
| 1 | Micro-Torch | Useful for any type of quick drying/heating | If you use it on heat shrink tubing, be *very* careful. |
| 1 | Inspection Mirror | Great for looking behind components | Not included in our MCM kit |
| 1 | Multi-Tool | All purpose, compact tool suite | Not included in our MCM kit |
If you put a kit together yourself, you'll need a box to store it all in. If you want something fun and cool, check out the Archie McPhee catalog. They have a wonderful line of both lunch and snack boxes with awesome designs. We're partial to the lovely Invasion of the Monster Women box ($14.95).
If you'd like a chance to win the MCM Electronics kit we assembled for this piece, check out the rules to our High-Tech Trash Chich contest.
- Gareth Branwyn [6/9/99]
Other select tools reviewed on Street Tech:
Check out:
Today's Software on Cool Tool of the Day
Today's TV on TV Ultra
|
